Theme of Power Corruption in Animal Farm, by George Orwell Essay

Power can have the persuasive action in undoing the moral ethics of one’s character. This can be seen throughout history, such as World War II and proven by the actions of Napoleon in the allegory, Animal Farm, by George Orwell. As Lord Acton said â€Å"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.† In history what was viewed as a villain or wrong doer is never the same as the perception. A leader does not begin wanting to do wrong, they start with the best intentions, but power is a tricky thing, showcased in Animal Farm as Utopian ideals but with failed practices. Most new societies that have a Utopian idea most likely stem from a traumatic event where humanity believed it had no other choice but to go to the extreme. Animal Farm does the same thing; these animals feel mistreated by their leader, Mr. Jones so they follow the pigs in order to create a Utopia. In The Giver, by Ray Bradbury, everything appears perfect but there is a glitch that is often hidden in the powers that rule. In The Giver it was the simple truth of life and how they, the powers that ruled, deemed to control it in order to create their own Utopia. These powers, whether the government is one single ruling body, or many, the slow gain of power feeds and justifies any wrong doing. As Napoleon first started out along with the other pigs, they made the seven commandments. Napoleon enforced "The Seven Commandments† which include statements such as, â€Å"Whatever goes up on two legs is an enemy,† â€Å"No animal shall wear clothes,† â€Å"No animal shall drink alcohol,† and â€Å"No animal shall kill any other animal.† By the end of the book, Napoleon breaks all of these commandments for his personal gain. Napoleon uses his power to alter the commandments in order t... ...mal Farm. Ed. Terry O'Neill. San Diego, Calif.: Greenhaven Press, 1998. 70-81. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Joseph Palmisano. Vol. 68. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. 3. Kirschner, Paul. "The Dual Purpose Of Animal Farm." Review Of English Studies 55.222 (2004): 759-786. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. 4. Richard I Smyer. Some Perversions of Pastoral Animal Farm: Pastoralism and Politics Twayne's Masterwork Studies 19. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1988. p30-66. COPYRIGHT 1988 Twayne Publishers, COPYRIGHT 2010 Gale, Cengage Learning 5. Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. Print. 6. Shakespeare, William. Macebeth. Ed. Rex Gibson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Print. 7. "The Holocaust." National Parks Service. National Parks Service, 16 Nov. 2013. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.